


First Date

by Bleck



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: First Dates, Fluff, Homophobes getting what they deserve, Homophobia, M/M, Nonbinary Tobias, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-08 17:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11086539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bleck/pseuds/Bleck
Summary: Tobias and Jake go on their first date. It gets rudely interrupted.





	First Date

**Author's Note:**

> So, yea, there is some serious homophobia in here. Spoiler- the homophobes get attacked by a bear. There's fluff before and after it though. Also, I know it says m/m but Tobias is nonbinary.

My name is Jake. I have a last name but it isn't safe for me to tell you. I'm not on the run, not exactly, but I wish it was that simple. It's not safe to tell you who I really am because Controllers are everywhere. Slaves to the alien parasite that crawled in their brain. My friends and I are the only thing defending Earth. We were given alien technology that allows us to morph into any animal we touch. I've found in the months since we stared that, while it might be something you kind of notice, Earth has a lot of animals. They each have their uses. One of my favorites, even though it isn't a morph I have, is the red tailed hawk.

They've saved our lives countless times. I don't know why they don't hate me. I'm the reason a friend got stuck as a hawk for the rest of their life. Even though they were given their morphing power back, if they stay in morph for over two hours again, they'll be stuck. Again. They still want to fight. To help us try and stop the Yeerks. So they're still a hawk. It doesn't make me feel any better about it. 

Tobias, the kid who is now a bird, doesn't seem to mind very much. Not anymore. They might not think I know what they tried to do but Marco told me. I'm glad they're still around. Like I said, they're important to me. 

Which is kind of why I really want my older brother to leave me alone. I need to go see Tobias but I can't do that with him here in my room. Especially since he's one of them. A Controller. It makes me sick to my stomach. Or it used to. Now it makes me angry. But a cold kind of anger, not like Rachel who burns.

"I know you keep saying it isn't your thing, Midget, but I think you'll really like the Sharing if you give it another chance." The yeerk in Tom's head said. The Sharing was a yeerk front to help them quietly enslave people. Some go willingly. A small part of me is glad Tom wasn't one of them. It doesn't make him any less trapped.

"Tom, I'm busy. I'm waiting to go to Marco's. Ok?" I said. I had already figured out it was just another pitch, they weren't planning anything new. That the yeerk said anyway.

"You're reading a book. On what, birds?" The yeerk sneered. The yeerk had go reason to hate birds. Like I said, Tobias keeps fighting and birds have very sharp talons. They've maimed a lot of Controllers. It's the least we've done, I think. All things considered.

"It's for school, we had to pick a bird. Hawks are cool." I defended them even if the yeerk didn't know it. If it did, we'd be in very big trouble. We'd lose and so would Earth.

"Whatever." It said, finally leaving. 

I had no plans with Marco. I did intend to spend time with a friend though. Making sure the backpack had they're clothes and my wallet had money, I reminded my mom I was heading out. She asked if I was eating dinner there to. I said yes. I wasn't thinking I would be allowed out that late but I wasn't going to complain.

Since it would be impossible to morph and still carry my wallet, let alone my backpack, I had to take a bus. Then I had to walk. A lot. Tobias, since they were a bird, couldn't exactly still live at home. Not that they wanted to. One of the reasons they got stuck as a bird, I and the rest of my friends suspect, was to get away from their aunt and uncle. Their aunt lived on the other coast but still. Tobias' childhood had easily been the worst out of all us and Marco lost his mom. That turned out not to be true but he didn't know that for a while.

{Hey.} A voice said, surprising the hell out of me. I looked around but I couldn't see Tobias. They'd laugh at my human vision. Or seagull vision. Or any vision that wasn't as good as theirs really. It wasn't annoying though, not really. It was one good thing out of the few they had, I wasn't about to take it away. Again, it's all my fault we're in this war to begin with. I'd like to think I would've somehow helped them get out of their situation if we hadn't got involved. Not that it was something I liked thinking about really, what could've been. I tend to focus on decisions, what I could make or should've made or shouldn't have done.

"Hey." I said. "I can't see you. I didn't expect you so soon."

{Yea. I know. I figured I could spare you a bit of walking. Since now we have to walk back. Or, you do anyway.} Tobias said, teasingly. They seemed to be in playful kind of mood or something, I think my dad would call it cheeky. I had no idea why they were being playful though. Was it the date we were going on? That would make sense. {I could walk back with you though, if you wanted. It'll take us some time to get there.}

"You don't have to do that. You can if you want to though." I said. I know they were now more comfortable as a hawk than as a person. Not that they weren't still a person. They were. Just not person shaped was all.

{Do you want me to?} They asked.

"Sure. I don't mind." I said.

"TSEER!" They called out from high above. The sun hurt my eyes to look up that high which I guess is why I hadn't seen them earlier. They were flying pretty erratically. No, wait, that was them showing off. That's what they was doing. After about a minute of showing off, theynlanded smoothly on a low branch. It was impressive. They were, obviously, the best flyer among us. Rachel was pretty good to. They have a thing kinda like Cassie and I have a thing. This is a different thing though. The girls are ok with our thing. They suggested it actually.

Tobias hopped to the ground and began to demorph. It was gross. Cassie was the only one who could make morphing pretty and sometimes even she couldn't do it. The grinding and rearranging of bones was audible as they sprouted up in height. They weren't very tall as a human though still taller than Cassie and Marco. But those two are short. Tobias was maybe 5'5" or something. Not a lot taller than them. As a human they came up to my chin. Rachel seemed to love that they were so much shorter than her. Since she's slightly taller than me.

"Hey." Tobias said again, this time with a mouth. Facial expressions were difficult for them now after living so long as a hawk who could only stare menacingly. But they still managed a small smile for me.

"Here are your clothes." I said, giving them the backpack and turning away. Rachel helped pick out clothes for them to wear. Fashion is really important to her. 

Tobias shuffled around for a bit, getting everything together. "I'm ready." They said.

I turned around to look at them. They were wearing a jean jacket, a cute shirt, and jeans. Girl clothes this time. They alternated. Their shoes were just regular sneakers. "You look cute." I told them.

"Thanks." Tobias said softly, holding out the back pack.

Tobias isn't really used to being complimented. More accurately I think, they're expecting to be made fun of afterwards for liking it. It sucks. Rachel is trying to change that. Mostly by throwing compliments at them all the time when they're together or often when we're in a group.

I took the backpack and we started the walk to town. Tobias was wearing the watch Rachel gave them a while ago but they'd probably demorph and morph back in the bathroom when we got there. Just to be safe. Like I said, they still want to fight.

We didn't really talk as we walked. We're both pretty quiet people. I think Tobias wasn't used to walking through the rough terrain though. They were walking a little weird, moving closer and further away from me and fiddling with their hands. Tobias kept it up for a good ten minutes before they stopped walking.

"Jake?" Their voice cracked as they said my name. "Can I hold your hand? I know you and Cassie aren't big into that so it's ok if you don't want me to. And it's ok if we can't hold hands or anything at the restaurant." They continued in a rush.

"That's fine." I said, threading my fingers through theirs. "We can hold hands in public to, if you want. It's ok." Cassie and I weren't weird about holding hands. At least I didn't think so. Everyone just stared at us when we did. Not that people wouldn't stare at Tobias and me. It was different though, I didn't know them so I didn't really care. I had to care what my friends think, we're a team. I didn't say that though. According to Marco I have a 'correcting voice' and I was pretty sure it scared Tobias or at least made them uncomfortable. So I tried not to use it around them.

"So, uh, how was your day? Or whatever." Tobias said. I got the impression they really wanted to know but were trying to play it cool but also wanted me to know they were doing it. I don't know, people are more Cassie's thing then mine.

"It was ok I guess. Thinking about now mostly. My mom expects me to eat dinner at Marcos so we have a lot of time to spend together." I explained. "I also started reading a book about birds of prey." 

"Why?" They asked. "I think we both have an insiders perspective."

"Well, yea. I don't know, facts and stuff. It caught my eye at the library. There was a red tailed hawk on the cover." 

"Cool." They said, quietly. I knew what they were thinking. Facts like the age range of birds in the wild. 

"Like, did you know that the diving speed of a peregrine falcon is over 200 mph?" I said, wanting to get their mind off of that.

"Wow. I knew you were fast but sheesh. I don't get close to 100. That's pretty cool." They said, the exact figure clearly surprising them. I've dived past them before so they knew how much faster that number really meant.

"Yea. I didn't know red tailed hawks drink water. Seems like it would take forever." 

They made some kind of expression but I didn't know what it was supposed to be.

"What?" 

"I didn't know that either." Tobias admitted. 

They stared at me. I looked back. We both busted out laughing. Tobias started to laugh so hard they bent over and went quiet. They stood up with tears in their eye and a smile on their face.

"I didn't know that. I figured I just had to deal with being thirsty. It's not like how humans get. Like, I don't get really thirsty. Wow. I guess I'll have to try drinking water next time." They said, smiling still. "That's pretty great." 

"Don't tell Marco." Tobias said a minute later.

"I promise." They would never hear the end of it if Marco found out.

"Thanks." They said, back to holding my hand. As a hawk, they liked to keep their distance usually. In the rafters of the barn while we sat on hay bales near the floor or on my window sill while I was at my desk or laying in bed. But as a human, I noticed they were a lot more physically affectionate. Usually it consisted of hugging, sitting close by, or sitting on Rachel. Like I said, our thing was new. For now it was holding hands. That was ok.

"How's school going?" They asked, looking up at me.

"It's school. Not very high on my to do list. I know I should try and all that but it gets pretty difficult. Lack of sleep, lack of focus, the actual thing we're talking about in school." I explained.

They nodded. "Not to sound totally lame even though it is totally lame, I could do your homework for you."

Tobias liked studying. They missed that part of school. I know they didn't miss most of the other students. They got bullied a lot. It's how we met. That might cheer them up actually. "Andy got suspended. Brad, I think, whatever his name is, got expelled. They got in a huge fight recently." Brad, or whatever his name was, was one of the two kids who tormented Tobias before I stepped in.

"Probably on who tormented me the best." They said, sullenly. 

"Brad brought a knife. That's why he got expelled." I couldn't actually say the fight wasn't on who best tormented Tobias or not because I wasn't there and they very well might have. Not that I couldn't lie or anything, but that it's actually kinda plausible. Tobias got beat up. A lot. They had this cute 'I'm innocent and need protecting' vibe. Rachel and I thought so anyway. Bullies took to mean 'pound me' I guess. 

"Do you think the pizza place would have hot chocolate on the menu?" They asked. It was wildly out of season at a cheap pizza place but I didn't want to say probably not. It was too cute. 

"I don't know. Maybe." I said. "Have you ever had any with a bunch of whipped cream and cinnamon?"

"No. Why? Is it good?" 

"I'm not the biggest fan but I feel like you'd actually like it a lot." I said.

"Why?"

"Not sure really. Rachel likes it more bitter, Marco with only a bit of whipped cream, and Cassie likes it with some chili powder."

"Oh. How do you like it?"

"With more whipped cream than Marco but not a mountain or anything." I said. "I've been thinking about how we all eat lately." 

Tobias snorted. "Like, if we all got a pizza who would want what?"

"Yea actually. Rachel would want olives or breaded eggplant like Cassie, Marco would want mushrooms or onions, Ax would need an entire pizza and would like whatever we gave him. It's more interesting than trying to figure out math."

"What about us?" 

"Meat lovers probably. I'm not really sure what you want with human taste buds. I was wondering if you could eat pizza as a hawk."

"Oh my gosh!" They laughed. "I'm guessing the book doesn't say anything about that, huh? Look it up next time your online. Or I could ask Ax, I don't think he uses dial up. Whatever he does, it's super fast. After I explain pizza to him of course. I doubt I would be able to eat the bread but I might be able to eat the cheese and the toppings. I'm gonna look it up later. I don't know why I wouldn't morph to eat it though."

"Green peppers are pretty good. With human taste buds. Mushrooms are gross. Meat lovers would be fine to. Anything but anchovies or ham really." Tobias said, wrinkling his nose at the last two.

"I'll keep that in mind." I said.

We had finally reached the bus stop by the time our conversation had died down. It wasn't awkward though. Probably not anyway. There was no one else there so Tobias continued to hold my hand. Not that I wanted them to let go, I know they don't like being made fun of.

We waited a couple minutes for the bus to show up. Tobias continued to hold my hand as I paid our fare and we made our way to a couple empy seats. I let them get the window seat in case they wanted to see the sky. Whether it was because no one cared, the best option, or people thought I was intimidating or whatever, no one said anything about us for a couple stops. The second to last stop before ours though, three mean looking guys were waiting.

It was obvious they were trouble as we were pulling up to their stop. It's not like I could do much on a crowded bus though. They got on and seemed to zero in on Tobias instantly. I held their hand slightly tighter.

Two guys sat directly behind us while the other guy sat in front. That wasn't an accident. The leader was easy to figure out, he was the one in front of us. Vaguely, I wondered if it was something I would've picked up before the war. 

"Lookie here, boys. Got us some fags right here." He said with a sinister grin.

"That we do, that we do." One of the guys behind us agreed.

"Bet blondie here loves it up the ass. Don't ya?" The leader mocked. As if that mattered. 

Tobias stared back. Not definitely, but their default expression as a human. Usually people found it unsettling but it just seemed to tick the guy off more. "Hey! Fairy, I'm talking to you. You a grade a faggot or what?"

"I don't think you've ever got an A in your life." Tobias retorted, smug all of a sudden. I had to hold back my laughter. Clearly he was spending a lot of time with Rachel and Marco.

"I'm going to gut you." Leader said. "Or, maybe, I'll show you how fags got their name. You know how? I bet you do. Personally, I think it's a bit too nice." He sneered. 

"I think you should walk away." I told them. The bus stopped and they waited for us to move. We couldn't wait for the next stop though, it was turning around after this stop so we all had to get off. I nodded to Tobias and we got off before the group of homophobes. Tobias remained quiet.

The guy and his buddies followed us of course. We set a fast walking pace but Tobias' human form wasn't athletic and I wasn't about to leave them behind. Neither of us knew how to fight and we couldn't morph in front of them. If there was no choice, there was no choice though. I wasn't going to let them kill Tobias. I was really hoping they didn't have a knife when they cornered us in an ally.

To my great disappointment, the leader of the group flicked out a switchblade. Sure, they might look tiny but it was still a sharp knife. And stab wounds hurt whether the blade was two inches long or twelve. I really hoped Tobias was calling to someone in thought speak and they were in range. Since it was my fault we were here in the first place and, frankly, because I was bigger, I stepped in front of Tobias. It might give them some time to run if I couldn't handle this. Just in case, I started to morph and hoped I could make it as discreet as possible.

"Aww, the big guy is gonna protect his boyfriend. How sweet. I'll just gut you first. No problem. Grab the twink, boys." The leader said.

"Stay away from them!" I roared as my teeth started to lengthen and my throat changed. I didn't know how to fight but I could throw a punch if I really needed to. My first punched was blocked but the second connected, getting him in the jaw. Hopefully some of the tiger's strength was in there for good measure.

"Motherfucker!" He growled, stumbling backwards.

A deeper, far more threatening growl, sounded behind them. Wisely, they turned around. To face some 800 lbs, seven foot tall on its hind legs, very angry grizzly bear. Rachel! She roared and the two goons took off running. I demorphed with the distraction. The leader was apparently not as intelligent as the other two. He was about six feet tall, maybe 200 lbs, and had a switchblade. Grizzly bear claws are about four inches long and she had ten of them. Now the guy tried to run but Rachel slammed him into the wall. She was strong enough that she could have flicked him into the wall. But she was angry and wanted to prove a point. Personally, I feel like it worked since, again, she was about four times his weight and a bear.

The thought speech was a bit much but I felt like this was a genuinely human kind of evil. Yeerks weren't normally this stupid.

{How do you like being scared by someone with something sharp?! Not fun, huh? Try something like this again and I will find you and rip your disgusting human guts out and shove them down your puny throat!} She shoved him against the brick and knocked him out. Maybe. It was really hard to care if he was only unconscious.

{Are you two alright??} She asked as she started to demorph in the back of the ally. {I came as fast as I could!}

"You got here just in time. I wasn't sure if you were in range." Tobias said, hugging her after she was done.

"I barely heard you but I flew here as fast as I could! I'm so glad you're ok." She said, kissing Tobias on the lips fervently. "Are you sure you're ok? Both of you?"

"Yea, we're ok. Thanks, Rachel." I said and she hugged me to. I hugged her back.

"I'm sorry your first date was ruined." She said.

"It isn't your fault. You literally saved our lives. If we had had to morph, it would've been worse for them. That guy isn't going to say anything to anyone." I said. People like that don't talk about such a crushing humiliation. I'd get Ax to follow him just in case. Ax would want to, he threatened his shorm and his prince. I'd leave out some details though, I didn't want Ax to kill him if he wasn't an immediate danger.

"Are you sure? I can take him out if you're ok with." Rachel said. I ignored it, that was the bloodlust of battle. I could see it in the gleam in her eyes.

"I'll get Ax to watch him to make sure he isn't a Controller." I ordered. 

"I think we should go to my house." She said. "We can order a pizza instead. Mom and my sisters aren't home."

"Alright." Tobias said. They were as frazzled as I was. It hadn't been like being surrounded by hork-bajir or taxxons but it was still intense.

"Do you have any hot chocolate? And whipped cream and cinnamon?" I asked. 

She looked at me and I shot a look at Tobias. "I don't know. We can buy some. You should demorph Tobias." She said.

"Yea." They didn't glance at their watch but started taking off their shoes to give us time to turn around. The sounds of dropped clothing and morphing soon followed. Rachel and I stood in front of them just in case anyone passed by. The ally was dark but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

An hour later, Tobias and I were sitting on Rachel's couch watching a movie. Rachel had given us the room after giving Tobias another kiss. The movie was Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a movie Tobias was said they were very happy to watch even though they had seen it a million times. We weren't really doing a lot of watching though, just cuddling with our hot chocolate and pizza. Occasionally, they would quote a scene or two they enjoyed.

As I thought, Tobias loved their hot chocolate with a lot of whipped cream and some cinnamon. They had never had it made with milk before either which was a travesty that Rachel and I corrected. It was the only way to make it right. 

They sat their hot chocolate on the table and cuddled against my chest. "Sorry I ruined our first date." Tobias apologized.

"What? How was any of that your fault?" I asked, angry. "You were the one who got Rachel to come and scare the creeps away. Once again, you saved my life."

Tobias momentarily froze at the sound of my voice before they relaxed again. "I was the one who insisted we hold hands. If we hadn't done that, we wouldn't have gotten harassed. Guess we shouldn't do this again." They said, miserably.

"Tobias, none of that was your fault. They were gonna pick a fight with someone. Really, it was better us than anyone else. We can defend ourselves better than most people." I said. "And it just means we should hold hands in public more often to show we aren't afraid of creeps like them."

"Y...you want to do it again? With me?" They asked, shocked.

"Of course I do, Tobias. You're amazing! And you're cute and strong and sarcastic and smart and pretty and lovely and a whole bunch of other things." I said, blushing at my awkward way with words. 

At least their face was a lot more red. Tobias' face was bright scarlet and their blush reached to the tops of their ears. They squirmed around so their head was buried in my shoulder and they wrapped one of my arms around their chest. "Suddenly, from behind, in which the full lengths of our bodies pressed your instead to my heel, my shoulder blades against your chest. It was not sex, but I could feel the whole strength of your body set or braced to mine, I only knew the stay of your secure firm dry embrace." Tobias quoted. Not that I know who that was from but their voice changed as they said it.

"Sorry it isn't super romantic, it's the first one that popped in my head." They said. "I skipped a bit though, I couldn't remember the full thing. I'm pretty sure it's from Thom Gunn."

"No, it's nice. I like it. It's very...comfortable." I said after I found the right word.

"Hmm." They agreed. "I was hoping I could remember a romantic Oscar Wilde quote but the only one I could remember wasn't romantic. 'The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast'. Which would be the Yeerks. I think the animorphs are pretty good. Especially the Berensons."

I blushed again. "Thanks."

"Until right now, I didn't realize why people like guys with broad chests. You're great to cuddle with." Tobias said.

"You're welcome." I said. "Can I kiss you?"

"You want to?" Tobias asked, somehow still confused.

"Absolutely. You blush at cute compliments, quote movies and love poems, and you're just amazing in general. I...like you. A lot. So, can I kiss you?"

"Please do, Jake."  Tobias said with a small smile.

I tilted my head and pressed my lips softly against theirs. Tobias must have gotten a lip balm because they tasted like strawberries. It was really nice. They tugged on my shirt and pushed up into the kiss. Neither of us were very good, we didn't have a lot of practice, but it was sweet and romantic. I could definitely get used to it. I broke away to catch my breath and smiled down at them. "Our second date will be better. Promise." 

"Yea." Tobias kissed me again.

Yea, I could definitely get used to it.


End file.
